Nigeria will not be in Equatorial Guinea to defend the title it won in 2013 after failing to qualify from their group for the 2015 African Cup of Nations. The super Eagles, today, drew 2-2 with South Africa on Wednesday.

The Super Eagles needed to better Congo’s result to make it through from Group A but fell behind 2-0 in Uyo, capital of Akwa Ibom state, after two goals from Bournemouth’s Tokeo Rantie before battling back to earn a point through a brace from Hull’s Sone Aluko.

But that was not enough as Congo’s win away in Sudan ensured that the Red Devils finished as runners-up behind South Africa and qualify for January’s tournament in Equatorial Guinea.

Elsewhere, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea and Zambia also booked their places in the finals on Wednesday in the final round of qualification matches. Cameroon, Algeria, Mali, Cape Verde Islands, Burkina Faso, Gabon and Senegal will also contest the 16-team tournament.

Tokelo Rantie scored either side of half-time as 10-man South Africa came within two minutes of claiming their first ever win against Nigeria in Nigeria and their first against the Super Eagles in six attempts, dating back to 2004.

Rantie broke the deadlock three minutes before half-time with his third goal of the qualification campaign, before slotting his second four minutes after the restart as South Africa looked on course to wrap-up group A with their fourth win of the campaign.

Sone Aluko scored in the 68th minute to set-up a tense final 25 minutes, which ended in disappointment for South Africa, who relinquished their lead to Aluko, who bagged his second of the night to deny South Africa a famous victory.

Shakes Mashaba’s troops headed into the clash with an unassailable four-point lead at the top of the group and would have been forgiven for taking it easy against Nigeria, who needed a win to stand any chance of defending their Afcon crown in January next year.

But Rantie’s double ensured South Africa continued their superb form away from home, notching-up Bafana’s sixth and seventh goals on the road, while maintaining their unbeaten record, to conclude a hugely successful campaign for Mashaba and his outfit, albeit with a disappointing share of the spoils with the Super Eagles.

Bafana finished the game a man down after Reneilwe Letsholonyane, playing in his 51st game for the country, picked up his second yellow card shortly after Aluko’s goal, leaving the visitors to hold on for a tense 20 minutes, which belonged to Nigeria.

The draw capped a miserable qualification campaign for the reigning Afcon champions, who had to keep one eye on the group’s other fixture in Khartoum, where Congo-Brazzaville edged their hosts to claim the second spot and advance to the tournament early next year.

Nigeria began the brighter as Ahmed Musa squandered three golden opportunities to take the lead inside the opening 20 minutes.

Darren Keet, however, in only his third international cap for South Africa, put in a superb display to deny Musa, who rattled the crossbar before thumping two shots straight at the goalkeeper, who had the better of the young Nigerian.

Just when South Africa looked like heading into the break scoreless, up stepped Rantie, who ghosted past four defenders before beating Vincent Enyeama at his near post to silence the home crowd and send Bafana on their way.

Ahead at the break, South Africa barely gave Nigeria time to breathe before Rantie hit the target for a second time after shrugging-off the last defender, rounding Enyeama and all but securing a win for South Africa.

But Nigeria’s Aluko had other plans. They pulled a goal back after benefiting from some slack South African defence.

With five added minutes looking a formality for Mashaba’s team, Aluko broke South African hearts when he slotted home with barely 90 seconds remaining.– Sapa. [myad]

The second edition of Governor Seriake National Wrestling Championships has witnessed an unprecedented registration by states and clubs as over 420 wrestlers have been enlisted for the five-day bouts in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. The second edition will run from December 15 to 20 at the Samson Siasia Sports Complex, Yenagoa.

The female wrestlers will be staged on December 17. About 32 states and four clubs have filled and returned their forms for the championship.

Speaking to newsmen in Lagos, President of the Nigeria Wrestling Federation, Dr. Daniel Igali, expressed his federation’s gratitude to Governor Dickson for his support and personal commitment to the growth of wrestling in Nigeria.

Igali said that he was overwhelmed with the number of wrestlers registered for the second edition of the championships, adding that it would be a befitting Christmas carnival for the people of Bayelsa State.

“My special gratitude goes to the sports-loving governor Dickson for accepting to host and sponsor the championship in spite of his busy political schedule. The governor is like a pillar for the wrestling federation. His support has been tremendous and he personally visited the wrestlers in Glasgow, Scotland during the Commonwealth Games. He always has one-on-one relationship with the wrestlers and even motivates them financially.

“I am surprised at the number of wrestlers coming for the championships which is an improvement on the first edition. My technical team is on ground and well equipped to handle the situation though we have warned that only wrestlers with valid licence would be allowed to participate in the fiesta.”

The five-day championships will feature wrestlers in freestyle, male and female, and Greco-Roman. [myad]